


A Future Beyond Seventeen

by hogwartsahoy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Angst, Birthday, Birthday Party, Dancing, F/M, Gen, Harry's 40th Birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25627282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hogwartsahoy/pseuds/hogwartsahoy
Summary: In which Harry turns 40 at The Burrow, a large party is thrown, dancing occurs, cake is eaten, crying accidentally happens and Harry wonders how on earth he got this lucky.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	A Future Beyond Seventeen

**Author's Note:**

> Today, 31 July 2020, is Harry's 40th birthday! I'm assuming you know that if you've clicked on to read this fic. 
> 
> Truthfully, I never cared too much for Harry as a character until I found Cursed Child. That was when I really sort of fell in love with him as a person and as a character. He has so many layers, and exploring the adult side of who he is absolutely fascinates me, so I take any chance at writing him that I can get. I wrote a piece for Draco and Neville's birthdays this year, so I had to write one for Harry, and it ended up being nearly 4000 words and I'm genuinely surprised. But I guess it shows how much I love Harry now, that I can write that much for him with complete ease.
> 
> Anyway, I truly loved writing this. I love writing Harry so much and I loved all of the little tidbits I squeezed into this fic. I hope that you really like it when you read it. Happy 40th Birthday, Harry!

Despite the fact that birthdays were usually thought to be a celebration, Harry had never quite liked birthdays. He’d tried his best when he was younger, and once he got to Hogwarts it was easier. But he hated the fact that he was always at Privet Drive for his birthday, that he rarely ever got to spend it with Ron and Hermione and that his present from the Dursley’s was whatever they could find in their pocket.

Birthdays simply signified him growing a year older. And as he grew, he found less and less reason to celebrate that. He expected himself to die around every corner, so adding another year to his life was just putting that death off again and again.

It was only when Voldemort had been defeated and he’d started truly _living_ that he’d started celebrating his birthday again. With a family like the Weasley’s, it was hard to escape it. They’d throw a big family dinner every July 31st, and either the day before or the day after, Ginny would whisk him away on an adventure to somewhere neither of them had ever been before. Harry still had very fond memories of the time Ginny took him hiking for his 20th birthday and they ended up lost. They’d had to apparate home and Ron had laughed for about half an hour.

By his 21st birthday, he and Ginny were, thankfully, living together.

By his 25th birthday, he and Ginny had a son.

They became more special then, birthdays. When he could celebrate the birth of James every year, who celebrated a birthday only a few days before Ginny. When Albus came along and they could celebrate his birthday and Christmas all in one, making it a week long affair. When Lily was born and made Harry’s own birthday month so much sweeter.

As they grew, Harry had no choice but to celebrate his birthday because they’d all insist on it. Those family dinners that they’d used to have at the Burrow came back, which thrilled Molly, and by Harry’s 28th birthday they were all celebrating with a large dinner prepared by Molly in the garden. It was quite a lot different than it used to be. With James, not quite four years old, running around and causing trouble. Albus, two years old and happy to quietly sit with his cousin, Rose, and play in the garden, and a one week old Lily, who spent much of _her_ day being held by her various aunties, uncles, Molly and Arthur. 

That night, Ginny had come and found Harry when it had gotten dark. He was stood underneath one of the trees in the corner that had been covered with hundreds of little lights that Fleur had called ‘fairy lights’. James was inside, trying to convince Arthur that it was _not_ his bed time yet, and Albus had already fallen asleep on the couch. Lily had fallen asleep in Molly’s arms long ago and Molly had been so afraid to move that she’d been sitting rather uncomfortably on a kitchen stool ever since.

They’d stood there for several minutes, just looking out over the whole family. It was a rare moment of calm and serenity for the young couple, who often spent their time being pounced on by James, spoken to by Albus or cried at by Lily.

It was under that same tree that Ginny found Harry twelve years later.

The family dinner at The Burrow had become tradition again, and most birthdays in the family were spent there. They’d be returning in just over a week to celebrate James’ birthday, and then staying a few days at The Burrow so they could celebrate Ginny’s a few days later. Harry loved spending time at The Burrow, simply because it was a place he found so much happiness as a child. Now, turning 40, seeing his own three children taking so much pleasure in spending time here thrilled him.

Ginny wrapped an arm through his and leant against his shoulder.

“I can’t believe I’m married to such an old man,” she said quietly.

“Mm,” Harry nodded. “It’s good, at least, that you married one that aged well.”

She screwed up her nose. “Some would disagree.”

Harry looked down at her with raised eyebrows just as she looked up at him with a grin. He shook his head, unable to keep himself from smiling, then leant down and kissed her. Ginny _definitely_ could have done better than him, but Harry had known ever since he’d first fallen for Ginny that he would never do any better than her. She _was_ the best of the best, and part of him was still baffled every day thinking about the fact that she’d fallen for him too. That they were now married with _three_ children.

Said children were all milling about the yard, catching up with cousins and other relatives. Molly had _insisted_ that Albus invite Scorpius Malfoy, his best friend, along, and Albus had been only too happy to comply. The two boys were sat at one end of the table, playing a game of exploding snap, smiles on their faces. James, however, was with George and Teddy, the three of them hiding by the fence and watching as gnomes that they’d just thrown out of the garden started to toddle back towards it. Lily was dancing around playfully with Rose on the makeshift dance floor that had been put up for dancing, not much of which had happened.

It was only just starting to get dark outside. The Burrow was illuminated in the brilliant orange of the sunset, and the sky behind them was a mix of dark oranges and purples so dark they were nearly black. They were set to be eating dinner very soon, with Molly in the kitchen working on the last of the dinner. Hermione and Hugo had gone inside several minutes ago to help her get it all sorted.

Perfectly timed, Hugo exited The Burrow and called out to everyone.

“Grandma wants me to tell you that you all need to sit down because it’s dinner time!” Hugo yelled, and then ran over to the table to take the seat beside his dad before someone else could get there before him.

Ginny chuckled at Hugo. “He’s _exactly_ like his father sometimes. It scares me.”

“Funny,” Harry murmured. “Lily seems to think he’s more like Hermione. Didn’t she ever tell you that Hugo doesn’t have a favourite class at school because he likes them all too much to pick a favourite? If he was like Ron…”

“He’d be _all_ about Defence Against the Dark Arts, or hate school all together,” Ginny finished for him, then smiled to herself. “Come on, let’s go get a seat before we end up having to sit apart.”

They took their seats just as Hermione and Molly came outside, several dishes of food magically floating in front of them. Ginny ended up sat next to Arthur, and Harry beside James, who was too preoccupied talking to George to even notice his father.

The dishes were carefully placed upon the table and as soon as Hermione and Molly took their seats, the feast began. Everyone started to pile food up on their plates, pumpkin juice and firewhisky were being passed around the table (with every adult careful _not_ to let a child get their hands on the firewhisky). Harry was amused when the table lapsed into silence not long after, with everyone clearly enjoying their food too much to even consider speaking. Molly Weasley always made the _best_ meals. They had been a staple of Harry’s summer as a teenager, and he never took them for granted. She had, after all, been the one to teach him to cook several of the meals he loved cooking for his own family now. Those hours spent in the kitchen in his late teens and early twenties, before James came along, where Molly would teach him all of the tricks of the trade, were hours he often missed.

After dinner was finished, but before dessert had been mentioned, Ginny stood up and raised a glass. She gently tapped the side of her fork against it and when everyone gave their attention to her, she began.

“As you all know, we’re here today to celebrate the 40th birthday of my wonderful husband, Harry.” Several cheers and whoops were heard around the table. “Harry has been my rock for the better part of my life, and I’m grateful every day for the fact that I got to know him when we were younger. I still consider myself lucky to have married him, yet not _quite_ as lucky as he is to have married me.” More laughter, and a quiet ‘Yeah, Mum!’ from Lily. “Because of this man, we have three beautiful children, all of whom I love more than I realised I ever could. Because of this man, we all get to sit here tonight as a family and celebrate him reaching another milestone.”

Harry sniffed and looked down at his plate. He always hated when she got to this part of the speech. He hated attention and praise on this level. Most days, he never wanted to even _think_ about what he’d done when he was younger. How he’d essentially saved the world. It was a lot for him to carry on his shoulders then, and it was a lot now. Ginny knew that, though, and she reached a hand down to squeeze his shoulder when she noticed him look away.

“I am _so_ proud of the man he’s become,” Ginny spoke, looking directly at him. He had no choice but to look up and meet her eyes. “He’s not only a wonderful husband, but he’s also an incredibly talented Ministry man and an even better father. James, Albus, Lily – you are all so lucky to have Harry as your dad.”

Harry glanced over at the three of them. James, beside him, smiled and nodded. Lily was grinning from ear to ear. Albus, however, Harry _just_ caught rolling his eyes. It took everything in Harry not to wince at that. He looked back up at Ginny and tried to tell her with his eyes that it might be a good time to wrap it up. He didn’t want Albus to have to keep sitting here listening to Ginny praise Harry. Not when Albus’ main fault in his father already seemed to be the fact that he _was_ Harry Potter. He’d heard enough praise about him. Ginny saw the look in his eyes and smiled a little sadly.

“So, a toast – to Harry!”

Everyone, even Albus, raised their glasses and toasted to Harry.

When the chatter resumed, Molly excused herself once more and then returned a few minutes later with a large cake floating in front of her. It took nearly everything in Harry not to start crying the second he saw it, for the cake was a large, beach ball sized Golden Snitch. Nearly exactly the same as the birthday cake Molly had made him for his seventeenth birthday, which he’d celebrated in this very garden with so many people that were no longer here to celebrate with him today.

Ginny reached under the table and took his hand, giving it a squeeze to let him know that she was here. That she knew what the look on his face meant.

Harry blinked fiercely. It seemed remarkably silly, to want to cry over the sight of a birthday cake. James, beside him, had seen his father visibly stiffen in his seat and frowned.

“Dad, are you okay?” He leant towards him.

“He’s okay,” Ginny replied for him. “I think it’s just the cake.”

“What about it? It’s a cool cake!”

Ginny smiled. “Your grandma made one the same when he turned seventeen. We had a party in the garden just like we’re having now. But with a lot of other people.”

Things seemed to click for James, then. He nodded slowly, and then reached over and took his father’s other hand, just like Ginny was holding it. Harry looked over at James and gave him as warm a smile as he could manage just as Molly placed the cake down in front of him. He met her eyes.

“Happy Birthday, Harry, dear,” she spoke softly.

Then, it was just like he was seventeen again. Sat in this very garden, at this very table. Fred, sat beside George. Lupin and Tonks, both so happy and so in love, on the other side of the table. Danger hanging over his head, but also the wedding of Bill and Fleur hanging over him, too. The inability to see a future beyond the job Dumbledore had given him.

Yet, here this future was. Ginny and James, holding his hands. His family, sat around the table, watching him as he succumbed and regretfully began to cry. Ginny let go of his hand so she could try and pull him into a hug. James stood up from the table and joined the hug. Lily, feeling like she was missing out, stood from from her own spot and sprinted around the table to join them. Moments passed and then Albus joined the hug, spurred on by Scorpius. All of this simply made Harry cry more.

It had truly been a while since he’d cried like this. And all because of a cake.

“Oh dear,” Molly muttered from her seat beside Fleur. “Oh no.”

Hermione placed a hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be okay, Molly.”

Ginny, James, Albus and Lily remained hugging him until the tears had finally subsided. When they had, Harry stood up from his chair, took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. Bill offered him a handkerchief, which he took gratefully. He stepped away from the table and took a deep breath, and then walked down the length of it until he reached where Teddy was sitting.

He motioned for Teddy to stand, and when he did Harry wrapped his arms tightly around him. This was the closest he could get to Lupin and Tonks now. Through Teddy, their son and Harry’s own godson. Teddy hugged him back without hesitation.

“I’m really sorry your mum and dad can’t be here tonight,” Harry muttered.

Teddy frowned. “You don’t have to apologise for that, Harry.”

“No, I do,” Harry said. “I do.”

Tears clouded his vision again and he succeeded in blinking them away. After pulling away from the hug, Harry walked a few seats up until he was stood by George, who stood without even being asked to, and then hugged Harry before Harry got the chance. George patted his back gently.

“Don’t say it, yeah?” George said quietly. “But I know.”

When, finally, Harry took his seat again, he was surprised to see that Ginny herself looked as though she’d been crying. She waved his concern away and forced him to look at the cake. His eyes flickered between it and Molly, who was looking at him nervously. Feeling a little indecisive in his seating choice, Harry stood up once more and crossed around the table to Molly, who he soon scooped up in a hug of her own.

“I’m not crying because I don’t like the cake,” he assured her. “I _love_ the cake.”

Molly laughed as Harry pulled away. Her hands went to cup his face. “I thought it might be a nice surprise, but I didn’t think it was going to bring you to tears, dear.”

“Neither did I,” Harry admitted, a little sheepishly.

She smiled gently at him, kissed his cheek and sent him on his way. No sooner was he back in his seat had Ron asked “When can we finally eat the cake, huh?”

Harry imagined Ron had been rather glad to be sitting a few seats away from Hermione, considering the daggers she shot him with her glare afterwards. He laughed at the sight, and then picked up the knife that had been sat beside the cake.

“Before I cut this – sorry, Ron – I just want to thank you all for being here tonight,” Harry started. “I wish that more of you could have been here. But I am grateful for all of you showing up tonight to celebrate my birthday. Thank you all.”

Then, finally, Harry cut the cake.

Pieces were shared out among the table until there was only a small part of the cake left, which Lily immediately asked Molly if they could take it home for dessert for tomorrow night. She’d been thrilled when Molly said that they absolutely _could,_ despite the fact that the leftovers from Lily’s _own_ birthday cake last week, made by Molly, had been eaten by James before Lily could get there.

When the cake had been consumed, the party kicked into gear. Lily dragged Hugo over to the dance floor, Rose had put some music on, Charlie and James moved to sit next to each other at the table and James was listening _very_ intently as Charlie talked all about dragons. Bill and Fleur eventually made their way to the dance floor, too, and after seeing them, Teddy came and offered Ginny his hand for a dance, too.

Harry stayed at the table, watching his family with a smile on his face. Seeing them all having such fun on the dance floor, seeing Hermione and Molly talking so happily. Even Scorpius seemed to be enjoying himself. He’d ended up sat next to Arthur, and the two were in the midst of what looked to be a very exciting conversation. It was only then that Harry noticed Albus was missing.

He frowned and stood up from the table, deciding to check the rest of the garden before venturing into the house. It didn’t take him long to find him. Albus was standing by the very tree Harry had been by with Ginny before. He gave Harry a tight lipped smile as he saw him walking over.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” Harry replied, moving to stand next to him so he could still see the garden.

Silence fell between them, punctuated only by the laughter from those on the dance floor. Harry smiled at the sound of it.

“Are you having a good time?” He asked Albus.

“Yeah,” Albus nodded. “Glad Scorpius could come.”

“It was nice of your grandma to offer,” Harry agreed. “Is he having a good time?”

“I think so. Grandpa was talking to him about Muggle toys when I left.”

Harry looked at him, eyebrows slightly furrowed. “Why did you leave?”

Albus said nothing. He kept staring out at the party, with a slightly confused look on his face. His eyes dropped to the ground.

“Albus.”

He sighed. “I was thinking about something mum said to me after your cake.”

“Yeah?”

“She said… she said that sometimes you have moments where you sort of… zone out. Where you think too much about the past that it consumes you. Did that happen with the cake?” Albus looked up at him.

Harry was surprised to see that Albus looked a little afraid for the answer. “Yeah,” he nodded. “It did. That’s why I went and hugged Teddy and George afterwards. Because last time I had a cake like that, George’s twin, Fred, was here, and Teddy’s mum and dad, Remus and Tonks, were here, too.”

“And you miss them?”

“I do.” He had no trouble admitting that. “I wish you could have met them.”

Albus smiled a little and looked out at the party again. “That would’ve been nice.”

Silence fell between them again, but it was more comfortable this time than it was last time. Harry was grateful for it. For the whole summer, he’d found that Albus hadn’t particularly wanted to talk to him much. This was probably the most they’d spoken since he’d gotten back home from Hogwarts. He had no high hopes that it would happen again in the next month before Albus left again, but it was enough.

“Well, I might go and find Scorpius again,” Albus said finally. “Bye.”

And with that, Albus left, hurrying off to join Scorpius and Arthur.

Harry smiled after him and slowly made his way back to the group, just in time for Ginny to return to the table after her dance with Teddy. Her smile grew upon seeing him and she extended a hand.

“A-ha! Just the man I was looking for. Come and dance with me.”

“No, no, no– Gin, I can’t dance,” Harry shook his head and tried to sit down again.

She was having none of it. With a wicked grin, she grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet, and then dragged him over to the dance floor without a word. Harry caught the gaze of Ron on his way there, who was sitting at the head of the table talking to George. He burst into laughter as soon as he saw Harry’s predicament and didn’t do _anything_ at all to help him.

“Come on, birthday boy. You can at least _try_ to dance.”

Amused, and slightly bothered, Harry obliged Ginny’s request and started to dance with her. Much to his luck, though, they’d just caught the _end_ of the slow song, and only had to slow dance for about half a minute before the song changed to one much more upbeat and much happier.

Lily made her way towards them just as the song started, leaving Hugo to dance with Fleur and Bill. She grabbed her father’s free hand and yelled “Spin me, spin me!”

Rather unexpectedly, Harry was enjoying himself on the dance floor. Spinning Ginny around, spinning Lily around. Hearing Lily laugh when Ginny spun _him_ around. Dancing with the two most important women in his life. He just _knew_ his mother would have utterly adored the both of them.

Half way through the song James joined them. He ended up picking Lily up, even though she was a little too old to be picked up by her soon to be sixteen year old brother. He did it with ease, dancing around with her like he used to do when she was much, much younger. She still laughed the same as she did back then.

The happiness on the dance floor must have looked good to the rest of the family, because soon the dance floor was much more crowded than it had been before. Arthur and Molly had joined them, as well as George and Angelina. Charlie had made his way over and was dancing with Hugo, and Hermione was trying to convince Ron to join her. Harry even spotted Scorpius dragging Albus towards the dance floor, and the smile on Albus’ face when Scorpius spun _him_ around was a smile Harry hoped he’d see again.

From a boy who had truly thought he wouldn’t see his 17th birthday, let-alone his 40th birthday, Harry had done much better than he’d expected. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve this family, to deserve this life, this happiness, but whatever it was, he was going to hold onto it for as long as he could.


End file.
